Inlaid article and method



P 1944- J. J. LARMOUR 2,358,726

INLAID ARTICLE AND METHOD Filed Aug. 22; 1940 INVENTOB Jam; [armour ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 19, 1944 James ".IL'Larmour; West Orange,,N.,J., assignor to Plastic Inlays, Ina, Summit, N..J., a. corporation of New Jersey Application August a2,-1940, Serial No. 353,603 7 Claims. (01. 41-35) The present invention relates-to a new and improved, type of inlaid article and to a new and improved. method f.,.dec0r.ating' artic es by inlaying.

Inlays have become popular for articlestmadej of many types of materials, and particularly for articles made of plastics. The latter articles areinmost'cases chosen because. of theirbeauty, and the addition of inlays greatly enhance their appearance and. desirability.;- Certain requirements must beimet in inlaying. The cost of the inlays and their application must be kept at a minimum because the articles, inlaid are. generally usedv in large quantities for example, for

automobile knobs, buttons. and other similar ar-' ticle's. The inlays must be securely attached so that they will not come, out whensubjected to various weather and moisture conditions. The present invention is-an improvement upon th Milford Guy Sypher Patent No. 2,152,161 and isdirected to an inexpensive. and more attractive inlay which may be securely. fixed in articles without. danger of accidental detachment. The invention utilizes an ornamental holding memher which rigidly secures'an-ornamental inlay. in position and at the sametime-exposes a substantial part-of said inlayfordecorative' purposes, and constitutes a superimposed ornamental. designwhich may lbfi of a contrasting metal or color that blends with and beautifies the exposed design. In this way the, attractiveness ofthe design is increased without impairing the security of the. inlay and without, increasing the costthereof. The holding memlber serves the two-fold.

function of attachingand-ornamenting the exposed inlay design. I

An objectof th -present inventionis to provide a new and improved-typ of'. inlaid article.

Another object of the invention is toprovide. an article. with anyornament which is' securely heldin position atalltimes.

Another object isto provide a typeof dec'oration which may be. easily, and quickly inlaid into anarticle. m

Still another objectof the invention is to provide an article'with arr-ornament whichris locked with the article and with a holdingmeans.

A further objectof the invention is to provide be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to. be described, ,or. will b indicated'in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur-to one skilled in the art upon employ-f ment of the invention in practice.

A preferred; embodiment of the invention has;

been chosen for. purposes 1 of" illustration. and de-J- scriptionand'is shown in the. accompanying draw ing, forming a part of the specification, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article illustrating a preferred embodiment of'the'invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded sectionalview showing the decorative members about to be'applied' to an article: I a

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the ornamentation inv the-recess of. an article prior to being secured therein;

Fig; 3a is an enlarged fragmentary; sectionalv view of a modified form of ornamentation in the recess of an therein;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of an inlaid article; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a poral. tion of thednlaid article'shownin Fig.4: and? Fig. 6- is a sectional view of 'a rnodified' form of inlaid article. I

The proportions of the parts illustrated in Figs. 2-6, and even'more particularly in Figs; 3 and 5, have been exaggerated more clearly to bring out the features of' theinvention.

Referring more particularly'to' the drawing,

there is shown an article I provided with a decoration 2" having a raised design- 4' thereon. The present decoration is' particularly adapted for application to'articles made from synthetic molding compounds such' aspyroxylin, formaldehyde or urea resins; hard rubber, cellulose acetate, casein, and the like; It is to be understood, however, that the application of the design is not,

limited to such compbundsybut that'such suban. article. inlaid with an. ornament having an improved type ,of raised design thereon.

A still further object: of-the invention is toprovide a new and improved'method of achieving an inlaid decoration with an improved design thereon.

other and, further. objectsrlthe. invention will stances as linoleum, wood; metal and other materials may also be inlaid; Further, in the'present application the invention is shown as being applied to an article similar to a powdef box cover but it will be clearthat it; maybe applied V to objects generally regardless of their shape or contour and regardless of the contour of'the' design.

Th article I to be inlaid is preferably provicled' with a recess 50f a si'ze -suitable'to receive T the decoration to be appliedto the article. With l certain types of materials the recess may? be" molded at the timethearticleis moldedand'it' maybe formed in other materials in any suit."

article prior to being, secured able'inanner: It will generally be desirable to have the recess of a shape corresponding to that of the decoration to be inlaid.

The inlay may comprise an ornament member 'I, is preferably made of metal or some other relatively hard material, and may fit freely into the recess 5 of the article to rest on the bottom thereof. The ornament member ,7 preferably has a depressedledge or shelf 8 at the periphery thereof to form a seat for a holding member to be described. Providing the ornament member I with an embossed or outstruck design 4 enhances its appearance as this provides a pleasing raised or has relief effect and making the raised portion 4 of a diiferen't color from that rative effect. -1 1 v A holding member ID is adapted to secure the ornament member I in position and to serve also as contrasting ornamentation.

holding member .III in assembled relation in a recess 5 prior to interlocking the parts- It will be noted thatthe holding member ID conforms generally to the shape of 'thef'marginal portions or periphery of the ornament member I and that it is shown as fitting freely into the recess 5 of the article I to .rest against the-ledge or shelf 8,

of the ornament I. The holding member, like the ornament member I, is-preferably made of metal and. has a smooth upper surface and a substantially channel-shaped underside, the legs II and I3 forming the respective inner and outer legs of the channel. These inner and outer legs preferably terminate in relatively sharp edges I2 and I5, the outer leg being slightly longer than the inner leg.

To fasten or interlock the ornament member I and holding member III with an article I, the

parts are placed uponan anvilor other. support, in the relation shown in Fig. 3, and a pressing member (not shown) is moved downwardly against the upper surface of holding member I0.

Downwardv movement ofthe: pressing membertends to flatten the holding member and to cause the legs II and I3 to spread outwardly with re-- spect to eachother. Inward movement of the inner leg II is limited, however, by the upwardly extending wall I 'I at one side of the ledge 8 of the ornament member, I. and the free edge I2 thereon pressesdownwardly into the surface of the ornament member to insure a firm locking together of the parts. As the outer leg I3 spreads, it comes into engagement with a -wall I4 of'the recess 5; continued downward movement of a pressing member and flattening-of the holding member causes the outer leg I3 to dig into the wall I 4. Where the outer leg I3 projects over the edge of an ornament member 'I, as in Fig.8,

the adjacent upper corner of the ornament mem ber assists in guiding the leg I3 outwardly into engagement with a recess wall I4.

The inner leg I I may be omitted, if desired,

and aholding member Illa like that shown in Fig. 3a utilized to lock the parts together. The parts shown in Fig. 3a are preferably pressed and locked together in the same manner as the preferred embodiment.

.The pressure applied against the holding memin instances wherethe article is made from molding compounds, the pressure applying means may be heated so as to heat the holdingmember.

and also slightly soften the article adjacent the Fig. shows the article I, ornament member I and -l5 of the other parts further enhances the deco- When the outer leg I3 of a holding member I0 is firmly in engagement with the wall I4 of a recess'5, continued flattening of the holding member tends to force the inner leg II radially inwardly against the upright portion I I on the ornament member. The inwardly acting force occurs about the periphery of the ornament member 'I and causes the central or interiorly disposed portions thereof to curve upwardly in the direction of least resistance. In this method it is necessary that the proportions of an ornament member with its ledge 8 and of a holding member Ill be such that flattening of the holding member will so contact the side II of the ornament member as'to cause upward curving thereof. In both the curved and uncurved embodiments of the invention the inner side of the holding member ID grips tightly against the ridge I! of the ornament member III to lock the ornament member firmly in position.

In final form, the ornament member I is held in position by the holding member I 0, which latter member rests against the ledge or shelf 8 adjacent the periphery of the ornament member 1. The upper surface of the holding member I0 is substantially flush with adjacent interiorly disposed portions of the ornament member I so as toprovide a smooth decoration of unitary appearance; The inner leg of the holding member I0' is interlocked with the ornament member. and the outer leg is in engagement with the recess wall I I. A securely interlocked assembly of parts is thus obtained.

A brass holding member ID and copper ornament member I is a combination of materials ductile enough to produce. a pleasing curve of the ornament member, in instances where such is desired, and also a secure engagement of a holding member I 0 with the ornament and with a wall of an article. Any suitable metals may be utilized.

By making the holding member ID a different color than the ornament member I, various contrasting decorative effects may be obtained. A

' blue ornament member with a raised. chromium 70. her I may be a steady pressure or tapping and,

plated design thereon, and a chromium plated holding member is an effective color combination. Coatings of contrasting color may also be effectively used. -While the term ornament member has been applied to the member 1 and the term holding member to the member II], it will be clear that both are, in effect, ornament members; the 'member I 0 is I memberin addition.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a new and improved inlaid article'and method of inlaying. The holding member serves the twofold purpose of holding theinlay in place and at the same time forms a component part of the design. The cost of inlaying and the cost of the parts are sufl'iciently low so that they may be adopted in mass production of articles witha holding out unduly increasing the cost thereof. The multi-component design lends itself to various configurations and to contrasting colors not possible heretofore. In addition, the inlay is rugged in construction and fully capable of withstanding the rough usage and the various climatic conditions to which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

. Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising, in combination, a member having a recess adapted to receive an ornament member, an ornament member in said recess, and a substantially channel-shaped holding member extending over a portion of said ornament member with said channel facing the plane of said ornament member of said holding member interlocked with said' ornament member and with a leg portion adjacent the outer edge thereof in engagement with a wall of said recess to retain the ornament member in said recess.

2. An article of manufacture comprising, in combination, a member having a recess adapted to receive an ornament member, an ornament member in said recess, and a holding member extending over a portion of said ornament member with leg portions at the respective edges thereof and with the leg portion adjacent the inner edge thereof interlocked with said ornament member and with the leg portion adjacent the outer edge thereof extending into a wall of said recess adjacent the upper surface of the ornament to lock said members together and retain the ornament member in said recess.

3. An article of manufacture comprising, in combination, a member having a recess adapted to contain an ornament member, an ornament member in said recess, and a comparatively narrow substantially planar member with the major part thereof overlying said ornament member and having a shape conforming generally to the shape of the marginal portions of said ornament member with a downwardly projecting inner edge engaging said ornament member and with a relatively sharp outwardly divergent free outer edge thereof embedded into the side of said recess adjacent the upper surface of the ornament member to retain said ornament member in the recess.

4. An article of manufacture comprising, in combination, a member having a recess adapted to receive an ornament member, an ornament member in said recess having a ledge at portions 5. An article of manufacture comprising, in

combination, a member having a relatively shallow recess adapted to receive an ornament member, an ornament member in said recess having a centrally disposed portion with a depressed ledge at portions of the periphery thereof adapted to form a seat for a holding member, and a holding member seated on said ledge with the upper surface thereof substantially flush with adjacent centrally disposed portions of the ornament member and with portions at the outer edge thereof embedded in a wall of said recess.

6. The method of inlaying decoration which comprises providing a member with a recess, placing an ornament in said recess, placing an apertured holding member on said ornament, and pressing said holding member toward said ornament to cause an outer edge of the holding member to engage the side wall of said recess, thereby to move upwardly portions of the ornament disposed within the apertures of said holding member.

7. The method of inlaying decorations which comprises providing a, member with a recess, placing an ornament member in said recess, placing an apertured holding member having a projection at one side thereof on said ornament member, pressing said holding member toward I 

